


Flowers and Massages

by melonbutterfly



Series: Domesticity [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Introspection, Language of Flowers, M/M, Mpreg, Pregnant Loki, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-16
Updated: 2013-03-16
Packaged: 2017-12-05 11:54:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/723005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melonbutterfly/pseuds/melonbutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki adores being pregnant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers and Massages

Loki adores being pregnant. If he did not, he would not have done it so often – this is his fifth pregnancy – but he truly does. His last was centuries ago, because it took a long time for the hurt of what happened to Fenrir (what _had been done_ to Fenrir) to not want to make him rip someone ( _Baldr_ ) apart anymore, and even longer for him not to want to curl up and weep at the mere thought of having another child that might share a similar fate as his youngest son.

Because, as wonderful as it is to have a child grow inside of him, to feel the special bond between them grow as time passes, to cradle someone vulnerable and helpless inside of him, there is more to pregnancy than just being pregnant. It is the beginning of something grand, something beautiful and painful; having a child is one of the most difficult and most rewarding endeavors a person can embark on. Truly, half of what Loki loves so much about being pregnant is the anticipation of what will come after – and most of what makes him shy from it is the fear of the same. But it is a time of new beginnings for all of them (him and Thor and even Odin and Frigga), and for the first time in a very long time Loki feels secure and stable enough – feels that his life is secure and stable enough – to have another child.

At first when Loki brings it up, Tony is wholly opposed to the thought. It takes Loki several days to realize that this is not because of a genuine dislike of children, of opposition to the thought of having one, but completely out of fear. Underneath all his bravado and confidence Tony is shockingly insecure, and his greatest insecurities are grounded in his relationship with his father (something Loki can entirely relate to, as much as he wishes he could refuse it).

Loki does not try to persuade him. He does not tell him that his fears are ridiculous (they are, in a way, but not in the way that belittles them, that means they have no base, that invalidates the way Tony feels – they are in the way that Tony does not know himself, if he genuinely believes he would treat their child the way his father had treated him). He does not keep silent on the matter, no – he tells Tony why he wishes to have a child – _with him_ , with Tony, that is much of the point, truly – and why he believes that Tony would be a good father, but he does not bring it up again after he feels he has brought his opinion across as coherently as possible. It is his wish to have a child with Tony, but he is violently opposed to the mere thought of it if this is not something Tony is sure he wants. He will not bring a child into a world without being able to guarantee it the love of its parents at the very least, on top of the basics such as safety and stability.

Three months after the last time they spoke about it, Tony brings it up again. It takes two more months of thorough discussion of the subject (during which Loki has to reiterate again and again that he wants, yes, but he will not leave Tony over it, he can live with never having a child again if Tony truly does not wish to, even if the thought saddens him very much) before Tony starts to truly consider it.

Eight months after they spoke about it for the first time, Tony says yes. Loki gives him another month to settle into the thought, to prepare what he needs to prepare, before he pushes him on his back in their bed and says, "You will impregnate me tonight."

Tony is half nervous, half giddy with the thought; Loki has rarely seen him like that before but over the next nine months, he will grow very used to it. As it is, the conception of their child is very pleasurable; if Tony enjoyed the fantasy of impregnating before, that is no comparison to how much he enjoys it when it actually happens.

Loki has been pregnant before, once by accident (an entirely unpleasant experience he does not wish to linger on) and thrice by design. Angrboða did not dote on Loki. He would not have wished it, back then; he was much younger then, much less secure in himself, even if he had not known it at the time. He would have seen it as condescension, as emasculating; Angrboða had not been the type of person to coddle anyway. She had been strong, and fierce; someone capable of protecting him while he was vulnerable, who listened to him and trusted him and who yet did not bend to him easily.

It is utterly pointless to compare her to Tony because the circumstances are so vastly different – _Loki_ is so vastly different – that it would be unfair, but a feature they share is the fire within them, a fire nothing and nobody can extinguish. Unlike Angrboða, though, who had not been simple or stupid but still somewhat inflexible, Tony is not too independent to truly live through the pregnancy alongside with Loki. Angrboða had taken part, yes, had been interested, but it had always been unanimously clear that the pregnancy and even the caretaking shortly after birth was to be solely Loki's responsibility. However, as soon as Loki wakes up the morning after conception to Tony's impossibly wide smile, to his gentle hands and soft mouth and breakfast delivered to bed before Loki can even think of rising for the day, it becomes clear that Tony will behave very differently.

Simply put, Tony is entirely besotted. He starts bringing Loki flowers several times a week, and Loki would tell him to stop (he does not _need_ to be showered in gifts) but he misses nature, here in Tony's tower. It is grand and opulent and Loki loves it for that, but Midgardians have done remarkably well on beating nature into submission, taming it, restraining it, and Loki misses the smell of forests, the sound of the wind rustling in leaves. And Tony does not bring him cut stems; he brings him flowers in pots, delicate white orchids, glorious sunflowers, pink alstroemeria, tiny alyssums, sweet-smelling lilies and even a small eucalyptus tree he has Thor carry in, until their vast living room smells like a beautiful garden. Loki does initially not recognize even half of what Tony brings him but JARVIS is very willing to help, and this is how Loki finds out about the charming concept of speaking through flowers. He looks up all the flowers Tony has given him and spends the next several days smiling, a flush on his cheeks, and whoever he meets looks a mix of amused and joyful, tells him he's "glowing" (this is because, mostly confined to the tower as he is for protection, the only people he meets these days are their friends, all of which are very happy for them). Tony laughs when Loki tells him and brings him fennel the next day – Loki prepares a meal from it and shares it with him, tells him about sweet traditions on Asgard. It prompts an unfortunate episode of Tony trying to learn to cook, until Loki can convince him that there is no need; he is eloquent enough with plants. This earns him a new wave of flowers; bluebells and celandine, heliotrope that makes Loki crave cherry pie for three days, crown imperials that make him laugh.

It is sweet, almost cloyingly so, but these days Loki does not manage to hold any emotion for long (except, perhaps, happiness), which is vexing and he would be annoyed about it if he could maintain the annoyance. Alas, he cannot, and truly he does not want to, not with how genuine Tony is underneath the teasing smile, the cheeky flush brightening his eyes. Truthfully, it makes Loki very happy, how much Tony is looking forwards to their child, how much he dotes on Loki after his initial reluctance, even resistance. And, in comparison to the game Thor brings Loki (despite the fact that it is not his place – Loki has resigned himself to being fussed over by everyone in his vicinity; even Clint seems incapable of not coddling him when he waddles into a room with his belly heavy with child and a frown wrinkling his forehead, and once Fury himself told Loki to sit his ass down and then brought him water because he apparently looked like he was "about to collapse"; the entire experience was somewhat bizarre), Tony's devotion is much more pleasant-smelling, devoid of blood and intestines.

Even the unpleasant aspects of pregnancy Tony handles with aplomb; Loki knows for a fact that his temper tantrums are legendary (several of Midgardian myths about him have root in threats he made while pregnant, which is an unending source of amusement to anyone who finds out) but Tony… well, to say he stays calm would be a blatant lie, he yells back sometimes, as soon as he figures out that trying to coddle Loki when he is furious will only anger him more, but when Loki's mood swings abruptly and he starts crying Tony immediately calms down, comforts him, apologizes, even if it was Loki who took something too far (like that time Loki felt abandoned because Tony did not return when he said he would and was half an hour late). He never once makes fun of Loki, never smiles condescendingly, patronizes him, and that counts very highly in his favor, Loki believes, especially considering how they used to not always be gentle with each other, before. Especially considering how Loki would definitely be annoyed and amused by himself, if he were somebody else. For all that he loves it, not everything about pregnancy is enjoyable.

The foot and back rubs are entirely new. If there is one thing Midgard should be famous for, it is indulgence – most of Midgard's inventions came about to make life more convenient, and there is truly nothing a Midgardian will not try to make more comfortable, be it food or hygiene or even war (they have some strange opinions about death, though; Loki finds the dichotomy rather puzzling). As such, they have found some admittedly ingenious ways towards making a person comfortable, and Loki would be annoyed at how scandalized Tony is when Loki tells him he has never had a "massage" before if Tony did not immediately proceed to show him, and _by the Norns_.

Tony tells him later quite gleefully that the noises that came out of Loki's mouth were rather obscene, but Loki allows him his smugness because this is one of the most pleasurable things that he has ever experienced, outside of sex. It is truly a shame he cannot lie on his belly anymore, as Tony informs him that massages are even better when lying down, and Loki can imagine it and has decided that Tony will demonstrate as soon as physically possible. Until then, he is very content with receiving back rubs sitting up, and with the foot rubs Tony readily gives him whenever both of them are sitting. He is also very content letting Tony shower him with affection and attention and gifts. All in all, he has never been so sure that Tony will make a very good father. Truly, he never doubts it for a second, even when – rather, _especially_ when – Tony doubts himself. He has definitely made the right choice. He is quite looking forwards to witnessing Tony truly grow into fatherhood once their child is born.

**Author's Note:**

> Flower meanings:
> 
> Orchid = beauty, luxury  
> Sunflower = pride, appreciation, admiration, gratitude  
> Alstroemeria = devotion, loyalty  
> Alyssum = worth beyond beauty  
> Lily = beauty, elegance, sweetness  
> Eucalyptus = protection  
> Fennel = worthy of all praise, strength  
> Bluebell = constancy  
> Celandine = joys to come  
> Heliotrope = Devotion, Faithfulness  
> Crown Imperial = majesty, power


End file.
